Independently owned since 1905
Independently owned since 1905
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Exploring new terrain can be a thrilling adventure – or a harrowing one. For one Portland man, a delivery turned into a terrifying experience when his vehicle became stuck on a mountain road in Northwest Montana. Luckily, a group of Thompson Falls hunters showed up just in time to save him. Attar Mann had made a delivery to Thompson River Lumber earlier this month and on his return trip home to Portland, was hauling a large water tank to Kettle Falls, Washington. "He had texted and talked to h...
HOPING TO NOT END UP AS THANKSGIVING DINNER, some turkeys hunt for food in Thompson Falls. According to the National Turkey Federation, more than 229 million birds were raised in the U.S. for consumption in 2019. That's about 7.4 billion pounds. The top turkey producing states are Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, Virginia, Iowa and California....
The Sanders County Board of Health met Tuesday to discuss the current state of coronavirus in the county. Nick Lawyer of Clark Fork Valley Hospital (CFVH) and Bina Eggensperger, a CFVH board member, recently joined the county Board of Health. At Tuesday's meeting, Lawyer said CFVH was at maximum capacity recently as the number of active COVID-19 cases in the county was rising. He said that numbers across the case have plateaued and the hospital has been able to keep up with demand, but "as a result of the train, our ability to serve the...
Veterans will soon have another option when it comes to their final resting place, thanks to Joint Operation Mariposa (JOM), which had a columbarium placed at Plains Cemetery last Tuesday. "There was a desire and a need to have a columbarium in Plains," said Dave Williams, president of JOM, a nonprofit organization in Sanders County that helps veterans in several ways. The Navy veteran and Plains resident added there was "a community full of amazing people and businesses willing to help make it...
You know what? This year has been a rough one. We are still dealing with a pandemic. We are having to make decisions about sending our kids to school, keeping our businesses open, and whether or not to see our families on Thanksgiving. Most of us have never experienced anything like this in our lifetime. The divisiveness that came with election season only added to the stress that we're all feeling. This week, we decided it's OK to feel the stress and feel like 2020 hasn't been that great. Yes, there have been worse years in history. Yes,...
It seems that almost anybody watching someone work believes they can do the job as well or better than the person who is actually doing it, especially if the person watching has never done it before. When I hired on at the brickyard in Lewistown in 1974, the boss pointed to a group of workmen taking wet brick off a conveyor belt and stacking them on small railcars which were then pushed into the kiln for firing. This was called “hacking brick.” “Can you do that?” he asked. “Any fool could do...
School scheduling became pretty chaotic for my son and family this fall, so they decided to homeschool until things settle down. Since my two junior high grandsons are comfortable in their public schools, and my daughter-in-law is a former school board member, this wasn’t an easy choice. Their dilemma reminded me of one of the windmills I tilted at back when I was in the public school business myself. Not many people become intensely interested in the word “curriculum,” but I did, and still am, and maybe that explains why my wife thinks a sta...
8 YEARS AGO NOVEMBER 13, 1940 SPONSORS CONSTRUCTION OF SKATING RINK The city of Thompson Falls is sponsoring the construction of a skating rink on main street opposite Weber’s general store. This project is entirely a city activity. In past years, the rink was not successful because the water seeped away and left gaps in the ice. This year a large amount of sawdust has been spread over the ground to form an insular coat and prevent seepage. The dormitory boys and other high school students are cooperating by donating their labor. It is h...
NEALA BLOCK, Thompson Falls - “First, you put it in an oven. And then you take it out and you let it cool. Then you eat it.” EDWARD FAIRBANK, Thompson Falls - “How you cook a turkey is you get off all the skin and then you cook it and you eat it.” TREVOR FITCHETT, Thompson Falls - “How you make a turkey is you stuff it, and then you put it in the oven and then you take all the fur and the feathers off.” COOPER LILY, Thompson Falls - “You put it in the oven, then you put the stuffing on it.” TRAVIS FITCHETT, Thompson Falls - “You take the f...
Ambulance: Heron, 1; Plains, 12; T. Falls, 9; Hot Springs, 1; Paradise, 2; Dixon, 1. Sunday, November 15 Property damage/criminal mischief, Plains. Intimidation/harassment, T. Falls. Trespass, Plains. Coroner called, T. Falls. Informational case, Hot Springs. Welfare check, Hot Springs. Business contact, T. Falls. Animal other, Plains. Informational case, T. Falls. Monday, November 16 Road hazard/blockage, Paradise. Theft, gun stolen out of vehicle, Dixon. Property damage/criminal mischief, T. Falls. Welfare check, T. Falls. Informational...
A deferred prosecution agreement has been reached between Sanders County and LaJean C. Manning, according to County Attorney Naomi Leisz. The Ledger reported last February that Manning was charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor for allegedly mishandling Trout Creek Community Improvement Association (TCCIA) and Trout Creek Park Board funds between May 2018 and January 2020. Leisz communicated that the recent agreement reached requires Manning to pay the county $15,000 within the next 12 months, and if not, Leisz reserves the right to...
Sanders County Sheriff’s Office Dylan Ross, 30, disorderly conduct, 1st offense, $235. Makiea Lawless, 26, driving under the influence, 1st, $685; driving while suspended, 1st offense, $275; operating without insurance, 1st offense, $275. Ben Whited, 75, driving under the influence, 1st offense, $685. Bledar Doda, 36, night speeding, $20. Cavy Wyrick, 21, night speeding, $20. Motor Carrier Services Donald Holzheu, 46, operate a vehicle improperly registered, $85; unlawful use of mobile phone, $125. Gerald Dickson, 69, exceed tandem axle w...
Plains Police Department is asking for help locating a man wanted in connection with an incident earlier this week. Mithcell Bear Raymond, 25, is wanted for several outstanding warrants and for questioning regarding a rise of recent thefts in the area, according to Plains Police. After a routine traffic stop in Plains on November 14, a pursuit ensued that traveled up Upper Lynch Creek Road with speeds reaching 90 miles an hour. The chase ended off Little Thompson River Road, as the occupants...
Cancer Network of Sanders County (CNSC) will host the 10th Annual Lantern Launch beginning at 6 p.m. Saturday, November 28, at the Sanders County Fairgrounds Agriculture Building. CNSC will have hot drinks available during the event. Each year this event has become a favorite time for more people to attend, CNSC stated. “We anticipate there will be over 100 lanterns launched this year – hopefully the most yet! This is the last event for CNSC for 2020 so we encourage you to come take part in a growing tradition,” said CNSC board member Kathy...
There is something to be said about hunting by the most primitive means possible. There are many out there who will say that this is bow hunting, but there are also those who still hunt with spears and atlatls. Around every corner there will be another person who will say “I don’t rifle hunt because it’s cheating.” Well, looking back in history, it’s very clear how those who hunted with bows and arrows felt about the “newfangled” smoke poles. The Native Americans, once they discovered the legendary firearm, could not get enough of them. In f...
Road crews work to fix a barrier on Highway 200 just outside of Thompson Falls. The damage was caused by falling rocks. The boulders fell just east of where metal mesh was placed on the hillside during the 2019 road improvements. Crews said it would take two days to fix the highway, as traffic was limited to one lane on Thursday....
Mary Lou (Gilbertson) Basham, 91, of Thompson Falls, Montana, passed away on Sunday, November 15, 2020, at Saint Patrick's Hospital in Missoula, Montana. Mary Lou was born to parents Mary Elizabeth (Bondurant) Gilbertson and George Clarence Gilbertson on March 12, 1929 in the family's three-room cabin on a homestead outside of Kalispell, Montana. Mary Lou was the second child born, following a sister, Amelia Mae, just 13 months before. The family went on to have nine children, with the sixth... Full story
John Warren Hamilton, 80, passed away November 17, 2020, at Ruby Valley Hospital in Sheridan, Montana. He was born May 25, 1940, in Elgin, Montana, to Chester and Elizabeth (Gross) Hamilton, the first of three children. John, with younger sisters Rosemary and Louise, grew up on the family homestead a few miles south of Ekalaka near the CC camp in what was known as Elgin. John was preceded in death by his parents, his sisters and his son Levi (1974). He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Linda... Full story
A windstorm back in March blew down a lot of lodgepoles on Frank LaMotte's Trout Creek property. This fall he wanted to clear the downed whips off his land, so he hired a commercial logger with a skid steer to pull them out. It didn't work. The ground was so saturated and soft that the logger's machinery bogged down and created huge ruts in LaMotte's property. The logger suggested LaMotte hire a horse-drawn outfit to come in and do the job instead. Enter James Yoder from Plains, along with his...
For the last 16 years, the Thompson Falls Community Congregational Church, along with help from the community and other churches, have been helping less fortunate families celebrate Thanksgiving with a traditional meal. This year, with the COVID-19 regulations and dangers, the Thanksgiving baskets program had to look a little different. Every year, locals can put in requesting aid from the program, simply with their name, address and family size. Each family receives all the necessities to cook...
The Sanders County Fair Foundation is striving to make the fairgrounds a bit more cheery for Christmas by buying new lights and decorations and getting them in place. Foundation members and volunteers worked the last two weekends to install the lights on 10 buildings on the grounds, including 20 lighted inflatable decorations. The fair has not had a Christmas light show since Mike Hashisaki retired as fair manager in 2015, but he was back Saturday working with volunteers Kenny Jones, Howard...
The 2020 Montana fall prep sports seasons came to a close last week with the playing of three state championship football games, played in different parts of our vast Big Sky Country. Missoula Sentinel and Billings West started the last best prep championship weekend of 2020 off in the Class AA title game on Wendy's Field at Daylis Stadium in Billings Friday night. The Sentinel Spartans put an exclamation point on an unbeaten campaign by defeating the Billings West Golden Bears 24-15. It is...
THOMPSON FALLS MONDAY NITE GALS W L Talk of the Town 19 13 Dangerous Dames 17.5 14.5 Dolls with Balls 16.5 15.5 Nascar Freaks 15 17 Rock’n Bowl 14 18 Balls to the Wall 13 19 Team Scr. Game: Nascar Freaks, 434; Scr. Series: Nascar Freaks, 1230; Hcp. Game: Dolls with Balls, 659; Hcp. Series: Dolls with Balls, 1868; Inv. Scr. Game: Angie Lowe, 176; Scr. Series: Koko Herreid, 466; Hcp. Game: Angie Lowe, 249; Hcp. Series: Koko Herreid, 661. BOWLING BEAUTIES W L Lane Blazers 29 11 Gardner Ranch 17.5 22.5 Aspire PT 17 23 Sunflower Gals 16.5 23.5 T...
The Plains Woman's Club was getting into the Christmas spirit even before Halloween, working on sewing projects for two different nonprofit groups. "It gets us in the Christmas spirit and it's fun," said Shirley Nettleton, the primary seamstress for the making of one hundred Teddy bears. This is the first year that the club is sewing bears and dolls for Joint Operation Mariposa (JOM), a nonprofit organization that usually works with military veterans, but this year will be handing out presents...
In their mission to end violence against women, men and children, the Sanders County Coalition for Families (SCCFF) dedicates their time advocating for victims and survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse, while providing a safe haven and support for those in Sanders County. In order for SCCFF to provide the help and services they do, they need help themselves. Volunteers from around the community have stepped up and donated their time in order to help SCCFF stay true to their mission. SCCFF is always grateful for the help...
